Managing metadata for external content within a computing environment

ABSTRACT

Technologies are described for managing metadata associated with external content. For example metadata can be obtained that describes content stored on external systems. The metadata can be obtained without locally storing the content items themselves. For example, the metadata can be retrieved from the external systems while the external content continues to be stored on the external systems. The metadata can also include indications of the actions that can be performed in relation to the external content. For example, actions can be obtained (e.g., locally determined and/or obtained from the external systems) and added to the metadata. The metadata can be stored and used locally. For example, the metadata can be used to locally perform the actions in relation to the external content. The metadata can also be used to locally initiate actions that are then carried out in the external systems.

BACKGROUND

Users of a computing environment typically work with documents and resources available within the computing environment, such as the local network of a business or organization. However, users may also need to access external documents and resources. Typically, accessing such external documents and resources is accomplished using remote access techniques (e.g., logging onto a remote system to work on the documents and resources) or by importing the documents and resources and working on them locally. However, both approaches have a number of limitations. For example, working on documents remotely can require significant bandwidth and can limit the interactivity that can be performed. As another example, importing documents can require significant bandwidth and storage resources, and can lead to security issues.

Therefore, there exists ample opportunity for improvement in technologies related to working with content stored at external systems.

SUMMARY

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

Technologies are described for managing metadata associated with external content. For example metadata can be obtained that describes content (e.g., documents, multimedia files, etc.) stored on external systems. The metadata can be obtained without locally storing the content items themselves. For example, the metadata can be retrieved from the external systems while the external content continues to be stored on the external systems. The metadata can also include indications of the actions that can be performed in relation to the external content. For example, actions can be obtained (e.g., locally determined and/or obtained from the external systems) and added to the metadata. The metadata can be stored and used locally. For example, the metadata can be used to locally perform the actions in relation to the external content. The metadata can also be used to locally initiate actions that are then carried out in the external systems.

For example, managing metadata can comprise receiving, from an external system, metadata associated with one or more external content items stored on the external system, obtaining actions that are performable for the external content items, adding an indication of the actions that are performable for the external content items to the metadata, and saving the metadata. The metadata can be used at the internal environment to perform the actions in relation to the external content items.

The external content items remain at the external systems and are not stored at the internal environment. In some implementations, just the metadata is received from the external systems and not the external content items themselves. In some implementations, the external content items are received on a temporary basis for determining the metadata or other attributes, but then discarded so they are not stored at the internal environment.

Actions can be performed for the external content items. For example, a request can be received from a user of the internal environment to interact with an external content item. Actions can be retrieved for the external content item from metadata stored at the internal environment. Representations of actions that are performable for the external content item can be displayed to the user.

The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram depicting an example environment where metadata is obtained and managed.

FIG. 2 is a diagram depicting an example environment in which metadata describing external content items is received and processed.

FIG. 3 is a diagram depicting an example of displaying an external content item and initiating performance of actions using metadata.

FIG. 4 is a diagram depicting an example flowchart for managing metadata associated with external content items.

FIG. 5 is a diagram depicting an example flowchart for managing metadata associated with external content items, including determining internal and external actions.

FIG. 6 is a diagram depicting an example flowchart for managing metadata associated with external content items, including displaying representations of actions.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example computing device in conjunction with which techniques and tools described herein may be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is directed to technologies for managing metadata associated with external content. For example metadata can be obtained that describes content (e.g., documents, multimedia files, etc.) stored on external systems. The metadata can be obtained without locally storing the content items themselves. For example, the metadata can be retrieved from the external systems while the external content continues to be stored on the external systems. The metadata can also include indications of the actions that can be performed in relation to the external content. For example, actions can be obtained (e.g., locally determined and/or obtained from the external systems) and added to the metadata. The metadata can be stored and used locally. For example, the metadata can be used to locally perform the actions in relation to the external content. The metadata can also be used to locally initiate actions that are then carried out in the external systems.

The metadata can comprise permissions. For example, permission information can be received from the external systems and incorporated into the metadata (e.g., mapped to local user and/or group permissions needed to perform various actions in relation to the external content items).

The technologies for managing metadata provide benefits over previous solutions. For example, by not storing the external content items themselves locally (e.g., at the internal environment), computer storage usage can be reduced. In addition, if the content items themselves are not received, then network bandwidth usage can be reduced. Furthermore, by incorporating permissions from external systems, and enforcing those permissions within the internal environment, security and privacy of the external content items is enhanced.

External Systems and External Content

In the technologies described herein, metadata describing external content is obtained from external systems. An external system is a computing environment that is a source of external content, and that is separate from an internal computing environment (also called an internal environment or local environment). For example, an internal environment can be the computing environment of a specific organization, and can include computing resources such as server computers (e.g., database servers, search servers, content servers, web servers, etc.), networks and networking devices (e.g., routers, gateways, hubs, etc.), and user devices (e.g., desktop computers, laptops, tablets, phones, etc.). The internal environment can communicate with one or more external systems via a network (e.g., via the Internet). In some implementations, the external systems are operated by other organizations (different from the specific organization that operates the internal environment). For example, the external systems may be owned by different businesses from the one that owns the internal environment. In some other implementations, the external systems may be operated by the same organization as the internal environment.

An external system acts as a source of, and storage for, external content. One example of an external system is a document management system, such as the SharePoint® system provided by Microsoft®. Another example of a document management system is Google Docs™. As another example, an external system may be a specific source code management system. A given organization or business may operate one or more external systems. For example, a specific business may operate a SharePoint external system, a Google Docs external system, and a source code control external system. External content refers to any type of content (also called a document) that is accessible and usable within a computing environment, such as word processing documents spreadsheets, presentations, emails, blog posts, instant messages, multimedia files, digital pictures, audio files, video files, etc.

In some implementations, the internal environment provides computing services to organizations operating the external systems. For example, the internal environment may provide a service, such as a document collaboration and sharing service, to users of the organization operating the external systems. For example, a user of an external system could log in to the internal environment to work with various types of content (e.g., collaborate on document items, send instant messages or emails, perform searches, etc.). The user of the external system may want to work with the user's own content items that are located at the external system (called external content items because they are stored at the external system). Using the technologies described herein, the external content items at the external system can be utilized within the internal environment without having to store the external content items at the internal environment and while maintaining access restrictions.

Metadata

In the technologies described herein, metadata describing external content is obtained and managed. Metadata for an external content item can include information describing the external content item, information describing what type of actions can be performed for the external content item, permissions associated with the external content item, and/or other information associated with the external content item.

Metadata describing an external content item can include properties of the external content item. Examples of this type of metadata include title (e.g., title of a word processing document, email, blog post, etc.), author, creation date, update date, etc.

Metadata describing an external content item can include actions that can be performed for the external content item. For example, actions can include a like action (e.g., indicating that a user likes a particular external content item), a comment action (e.g., indicating that a particular user has commented on a particular external content item), and a share action (e.g., indicating that a particular user has shared a particular external content item with another particular user). Other actions can include a forward action, an approve action, an assign action, etc. Any type of action that can be performed in relation to the external content item can be represented in the metadata. For example, actions that can be performed for a source code control external system could include merge, update, approve, check-in, and check-out.

Metadata describing an external content item can include information that summarizes the external content item. For example, a thumbnail or snapshot can be created that represents an external content item (e.g., a thumbnail of a document or picture and/or a reference to a thumbnail). As another example, a brief description can be created for a text document. As another example, speech recognition metadata can be created from an audio file.

Metadata describing an external content item can include permission information. For example, information describing user and/or group permissions for the external content items can be included in the metadata. The permissions can reflect user and/or group permissions on the external systems and describe what the users and/or groups can do with the external content items on the external systems. For example, the permissions can include users (e.g., identified by unique user identifiers used by the external system) and/or groups (e.g., identified by unique group and/or user identifiers used by the external system) along with specific permissions. For example, the specific permissions can include read, write, update, etc. In some implementations, the permission information is obtained from access control lists (ACLs) provided by the external systems.

In some implementations, the metadata is obtained directly from the external systems. For example, an internal environment can send a request for metadata describing one or more external content items to an external system. In response, the internal environment can receive the metadata (e.g., a collection of metadata for each of a number of external content items maintained by the external system). The metadata can be obtained via a computer service running at the internal environment. The computer service can be called an ingress manager.

In some implementations, the metadata is obtained from the external content items but copies (e.g., replicated copies) of the external content items are not maintained at the internal environment. For example, the internal environment can temporarily retrieve (e.g., download) the external content items, determine metadata for the retrieved external content items or perform other processing (e.g., speech recognition, thumbnail creation, etc.), and then delete the retrieved external content items so that they are not stored at the internal environment. For example, the external content items can be cached on a temporary basis at the internal environment and then discarded once the processing is performed and the metadata is determined.

By not receiving, or not storing, the external content items themselves at the internal environment, a number of potential problems can be avoided. For example, if the external content items were to be replicated to the internal environment, then problems with data consistency can occur (e.g., the two copies can become out of sync).

The metadata can be obtained (e.g., directly from the external system and/or by retrieving the external content items) via a computer service running at the internal environment. The computer service can be called an ingress manager.

The actions included in the metadata can include actions that are performable at the internal environment (also called internal actions). For example metadata describing a text document content item can be retrieved from an external system and stored at the internal environment. The metadata can include actions that are performable within the internal environment such as like, comment, and share. For example, a user of the internal environment can comment on the specific text document, which can store information describing the comment (e.g., the user identifier for the user that made the comment, the content of the comment, the date and time of the comment, etc.) in a data store and associate the comment with the specific text document (e.g., with a reference to the metadata for the specific text object, such as a reference to a unique identifier of an object storing the metadata).

The actions included in the metadata can include actions that are performable at the external system (also called external actions). For example metadata describing a source code content item can be retrieved from an external system and stored at the internal environment. The metadata can include actions that a user of the internal environment can initiate but that are ultimately performed at the external system, such as approve, check-in, and merge. For example, a user of the internal environment can select the approve action for the source code content item. In order to carry out the approve action, the metadata can store the commands needed to perform the approve action in the external system (e.g., service call information that comprises specific instructions, such as a URL and parameters, that are specific to the source code content item, instructing the external system to approve the specific source code content item). The actions that are performable for a given external content item can include internal actions, external actions, or both internal and external actions.

In some implementations, the metadata for an external content item includes one or more of the following items: a unique identifier for the external content item in the internal environment, a unique identifier for the external content item in the external system, indications of the actions that are performable for the external content item, service call information for performing each of the actions, and one or more user permissions (e.g., ACLs) associated with the external content item.

Actions

In the technologies described herein, actions can be performed by users of the internal environment in relation to the external content items using the metadata. Actions can include internal actions that are performable within the internal environment and/or external actions that are initiated at the internal environment and that are ultimately carried out at the external system.

The actions that can be performed for a given external content item can be identified by the external system that stores or manages the external content item. For example, the internal environment can receive metadata from the external system that includes a list of the actions that can be performed (e.g., external actions that are performable by the external system). For example, a specific source code control external system could support approve, check-in, check-out, and merge actions.

The actions that can be performed for a given external content item can be identified at the internal environment. For example a component of the internal environment (e.g., an ingress manager or other software running at the internal environment) can obtain metadata describing an external content item. The component can determine actions that are performable for the external content item and add the actions to the metadata. The actions that are determined by the component can include internal actions that are performed within the internal environment and/or external actions that are initiated within the internal environment but performed at the external system.

Actions can be performed by a user of the internal environment. For example, the user can access metadata describing a specific external content item (e.g., view a representation of the metadata in a graphical user interface). Actions that can be performed by the user can also be presented (e.g., graphical icons representing the actions). The user can select a specific action to perform (e.g., select one of the icons). Selecting a specific action can perform the action by accessing the metadata for that action. For example, if the action is an internal action, then the metadata for the action could contain service call information comprising a URL to an internal service for performing the action (e.g., for a like action, a URL to an internal service along with unique identifiers for the metadata object and the user performing the action). If the action is an external action, then the metadata for the action could contain service call information comprising transformation logic for creating an external service call that references the external content item and the specific action to perform.

Actions can also be performed by other entities (other than users) of the internal environment, such as by automated systems. For example, an automated chat bot could execute an external action (such as “close issue”) based on a combination of inputs from different users in a group collaboration session (e.g., everyone in the conversation agrees that the issue should be closed, which initiates the automated chat bot to perform the action). Another action could be based on the correlation of data received from different systems (e.g., a bug tracking system indicates that the status of a bug is “resolved” and the external facing status system still shows the bug as “active,” so the bug tracking system initiates an external action to change the status of the bug to “resolved” in external facing status system.

In some implementations, the service call information (e.g., for an internal action and/or an external action) comprises a description of the service endpoint for carrying out the action in addition to transformation logic. The service endpoint can be, for example, a URL or other reference to the service that will carry out the action (e.g., a URL located within the internal environment or an external URL associated with the external system). The transformation logic includes instruction for mapping information from the metadata and generating the service call (e.g., which parameters are needed for the service call, mapping information for creating the parameters from the metadata, permission and access requirements, etc.). For example, the transformation logic can be used to create parameters for an application programming interface (API) call for performing the action.

The service call information can be received from the external system (e.g., via a connector). For example, the external system can provide service call information for a number of external actions that are supported by the external system. The service call information can also be created within the internal environment (e.g., by the ingress manager). In some implementations, an owner or other third party associated with the external system creates an external system specific connector including the service call information for a number of actions supported by the external system. In this way, the owner of the external system can define the actions that are supported and how they are performed without programmers of the internal environment having to create the service call information. For example, the internal environment can just receive the metadata describing the actions and associated service call information (e.g., for external actions) without operators of the internal environment having to create the service call information for the external actions of the external system. This also allows the environment to be extensible (e.g., the owners of the external systems can create their own connectors to provide metadata, including descriptions of actions and service call information, to the internal environment in a common format).

The following is an example of service call information for a specific action, which is an action to approve with a comment. The example metadata below contains the transformation logic for the “approve with a comment” action.

″actionMappings″:[ { ″name″:″approve″, ″permission″:″approve″, ″verb″:″post″, ″url″:″approve″, ″body″:″{\″id\″:\″%extId%\″,\″action\″:\″APPROVE\”,\”comment\”:\”%html.comment%\ ″}″, ″buttonLabel″:″Approve″ }

Using the above example metadata for the “approve with a comment” action, the below example service call can be generated and performed.

HTTP POST: https://mydomain.com/approve

BODY: {“id”:“DOC-1234567”,“action”:“APPROVE”:“comment”:“comment from HTML form”}

In the above service call example, the “POST” is the “verb” in the action mapping metadata, the domain (mydomain.com) is obtained from a connector configuration file for the specific external system, and the “/approve” in the URL is the “url” from the action mapping metadata. The “body” in the action mapping metadata is used to create the “BODY” of the service call in which % extId% is the external identifier of the external content item and is obtained from the metadata for the external content item. The % html.comment% is obtained from the web page that is used to collect the comment from the user. While this example uses HTML to collect the comment from the user, any client technology may be used.

The following is another example of service call information for a specific action, which is a view action. The example metadata below contains the transformation logic for the view action.

″actionMappings″:[ { ″name″:″retrieve″, ″permission″:″read″, ″verb″:″get″, ″parms″:″id=\″%extId%\″″, ″buttonLabel”:″View″ }

Using the above example metadata for the view action, the below example service call can be generated and performed, which will allow the user to view the actual external content item in the user's web browser.

HTTP GET: https ://mydomain.com/retrieve?id=DOC- 1234567

Permissions

In the technologies described herein, permissions can be obtained and/or generated for external content items. Permissions can be obtained from the external system (e.g., in the format of ACLs) and used to map users and/or groups of the external system to internal user and/or group identifiers. In this way, permissions of the external system can also be enforced within the internal environment.

In some implementations, the external system provides metadata containing user permissions indicating which actions can be performed by which users and/or groups. For example, the user permissions can include a list of users and which action or actions each user can perform (e.g., user1 can perform an update action, user2 can perform update and merge actions, and so on). The user permissions can also include a list of groups and which action or actions each group can perform (e.g., groupl can perform update and merge actions).

Content Objects

In the technologies described herein, metadata can be stored in a content object (also called a generic content object). The content object can store the metadata in a variety of formats, such as a text format, a database record, an XML format, or another data storage format.

The content object can store one or more unique identifiers (e.g., a primary key in a database or another type of unique identifier). The unique identifiers can include a unique identifier for an external content item, which is the unique identifier that the external system uses to reference the external content item. For example, an external system can store content items that are identified by unique identifiers, and the unique identifiers can be provided to the internal environment as part of the metadata. As a specific example, an external system can provide a primary key with a value of 12345 as the unique identifier for a specific external content item.

The unique identifiers can include a unique identifier for an external content item in an internal environment, which is the unique identifier that the internal environment uses to reference the external content item. For example, when the internal environment receives metadata for a new external content item, a unique identifier can be generated to reference the external content item within the internal environment. As a specific example, the internal environment could generate a unique identifier of 1002 to reference the external content item and store that in the content object for the external content item.

The content object can store indications of the actions that are performable for an external content item. The actions can be stored along with service call information for performing the actions. As a specific example, the actions can comprise a list of action name and service call information (in this example, a simplified URL), such as:

view, www.domain1.com/view

approve, www.domain1/approve

merge, www.domain1/merge

The content object can store user permissions (e.g., ACLs) for an external content item. The user permissions can indicate specific users and/or groups and the actions that can be performed by the specific users and/or groups. As a specific example, the list below contains three unique user or group identifiers and the actions that can be performed.

1002: view

1003: view, update

1004: view, update, approve

Example Environments for Managing Metadata

In the technologies described herein, metadata can be obtained and managed by an internal environment. For example, computing resources of the internal environment can obtain metadata associated with external content items stored at external systems. The metadata can be stored at the internal environment (without storing the external content items at the internal environment). The metadata can be used within the internal environment (e.g., users can perform actions in relation to the external content items using the metadata, such as search and collaboration actions).

FIG. 1 is a diagram depicting an example environment 100 where metadata is obtained and managed. The example environment 100 includes an internal environment 110 (also called a local environment). The internal environment 110 is operated by a collection of computing resources, such as server computers (e.g., database servers, search servers, content servers, web servers, etc.), networks and networking devices (e.g., routers, gateways, hubs, etc.), and user devices (e.g., desktop computers, laptops, tablets, phones, etc.). The internal environment 110 can be the computing environment of a particular business or organization.

The internal environment 110 is connected to external systems 150 and 160 via a computer network 140. For example, the computer network 140 can comprise local area networks, wide area networks, the Internet, and/or other computer networks. The external systems 150 and 160 are external and operated separately from the internal environment 110. In some implementations, the external systems 150 and 160 are operated by different businesses or organizations from the particular business or organization that operates the internal environment 110. The external systems 150 and 160 can be located remotely from the internal environment 110 (e.g., located in a different geographical location, such as a different state or country). While two external systems are depicted, an environment may have one or more external systems, and a given business or organization may operate one or more external systems.

The external systems 150 and 160 are a source of external content items. For example, external system 150 contains external content source 154 (e.g., a data store, such as a database, storing external content items). External system 160 contains external content source 164. For example, external system 150 could be a SharePoint system and external system 160 could be a Google Docs system.

As depicted at 126, the internal environment 110 receives metadata associated with external content from the external systems (e.g., external systems 150 and 160). In some implementations, metadata is obtained, at least in part, using a connector. The connector represents software that performs functions for receiving (or retrieving) metadata associated with an external system and can be implemented as a separate software component and/or integrated into other software systems. The connector may be located at the internal environment, as depicted by connector 112, and/or at the external system, as depicted by connectors 150 and 160.

In some implementations, the connector is an external system specific connector. For example, a specific connector can be created for providing metadata for a specific external system. The specific connector can be programmed to extract the metadata from the specific external system and transform it into a common format for receiving and processing by the internal environment 110 (e.g., by the ingress manager 120). For example, the specific connector can comprise software that knows how to obtain metadata for the specific external system, such as obtaining content item properties, actions, user permissions, etc. An external system specific connector can be created by an entity (e.g., a business or organization) that operates the external system. In some implementations, the internal environment 110 contains a number of external system specific connectors, each specific to a corresponding external system.

In some implementations, metadata is obtained without using a connector. For example, other software and/or hardware components of the internal environment can receive metadata from the external systems.

The internal environment 110 includes an ingress manager 120. The ingress manager 120 can be implemented as a separate software component of the internal environment 110 and/or integrated with other software services of the internal environment 110. The ingress manager 120 receives the metadata from the external systems (e.g., via connector 112). The ingress manager 120 can also generate additional metadata. For example, the ingress manager 120 can determine actions that can be performed for the external content items and add indications of the actions to the metadata. The ingress manager 120 can also determine user permissions (e.g., generate user permissions from ACLs received from the external systems). The ingress manager 120 can also add other types of metadata and/or modify the metadata received from the external systems.

Once metadata has been generated for a particular external content item, it is stored in a data store 122 (e.g., a database or another type of data store). For example, the data store 122 can store the metadata as content objects (e.g., with one content object storing metadata for one external content item).

The stored metadata is used by users of the internal environment 110 to perform operations with regard to the external content items. For example, users of user devices 130 perform operations in relation to the external content items using the stored metadata (e.g., stored in the data store 122) via interactive services 124 provided by the internal environment 110. For example, a user could use a search service to find external content items and perform actions (e.g., liking, commenting, sharing, etc.) in relation to the external content items.

FIG. 2 is a diagram depicting an example environment 200 in which metadata describing external content items is received and processed. The example environment 200 illustrates example procedures for receiving (or retrieving) metadata describing external content items in relation to some of the components described with regard to FIG. 1.

As depicted at 220, metadata describing an external content item is received at the internal environment 110 from the external system 150. The following is a simplified example of received metadata describing an example external content item that is a blog document (stored at the external system 150) created by a user with a unique user identifier of userl and with a title of “This is my title.”

Primary key: DOC-1234567

Created by: user1

Title: This is my title

objectType: blog

ACLs

99: read, write

group8: read, publish

In this example implementation, the metadata describing the external content item is received by connector 112. The connector 112 transforms the received metadata into an internal format. For example, the connector 112 can map attributes and values in the received metadata to internal attributes and values (e.g., to a common internal format that is common across a number of external systems). The connector 112 can output the transformed metadata in the format of a content object, as depicted at 222. The following is an example of transformed metadata that could be output by the connector 112.

{“version”:“1.0”, “extId”:“1234567”, “metadata”:[ {“name”:“sourceSystemObjectId”, “type”:“extId”, “value”:“DOC-1234567” }, {“name”:“principal”, “type”:“extId”, “value”:“99”, “details”:[ { “name”:“acl”, “type”:“permission”, “values”:[ “read”, “write” ] } ] }, { “name”:“principal”, “type”:“extId”, “value”:“group8”, “details”:[ { “name”:“acl”, “type”:“permission”, “values”:[ “read”, “publish” ] } ] }, { “name”:“externalObjectLinks”, “type”:“attribute”, “value”:“rawDocument”, “details”:[ { “name”:“rawDocument”, “type”:“uri”, “value”:“https://mydomain.com/myfile.doc” }, { “name”:“hash”, “type”:“md5hash”, “value”:“somelonghashvalue” } ] }, { “name”:“sourceMd5Hash”, “type”:“md5hash”, “value”:“someLongHashValue” }, { “name”:“changeMd5Hash”, “type”:“md5hash”, “value”:“someLongHashValue” }, { “name”:“relationships”, “type”:“extId”, “value”:“this”, “details”:[ { “name”:“parent”, “type”:“extId”, “value”:“parentDocId” } ] }, { “name”:“rawObject”, “type”:“base64”, “value”:“base64string” } ] }

The output of the connector 112 is provided to the ingress manager 120. The ingress manager 120 can perform additional transformations and/or determine additional metadata (e.g., specific to the internal environment 110). In some implementations, the ingress manager 120 uses a connector configuration 224 from a connector configuration store 210. For example, the connector configuration 224 can describe the structure, format, and meaning of the incoming metadata including processing of metadata that is specific to an external system. The following is an example of the connector configuration 224.

{ “version”:“1.0”, “attrMappings”:[ { “sourceName”:“status”, “type”:“flexfield”, “size”:0, “JCOAttribute”:“flex1” }, { “sourceName”:“project”, “type”:“flexfield”, “size”:0, “JCOAttribute”:“flex2” }, { “sourceName”:“labels”, “type”:“flexfield”, “size”:0, “JCOAttribute”:“flex3” } ], “displayMappings”:[ { “name”:“preview”, “mapping”:“\“<title>%title%</title><p><p>Project: %project%<p>Type: %type%<p>Labels: %labels%<p><p><p>%body%\”” } ], “actionMappings”:[ { “name”:“approve”, “permission”:“approve”, “verb”:“post”, “url”:“approve”, “body”:“{\“id\”:\“%extId%\”,\“action\”:\“APPROVE\”}”, “buttonLabel”:“Approve” }, { “name”:“retrieve”, “permission”:“read”, “verb”:“get”, “parms”:“id=\“%extId%\””, “buttonLabel”:“Retrieve” } ], “externalSystem”:{ “id”:“12345”, “rootUrl”:“https://mydomain.com”, “auth”:{ “apiKey”:“Somekeyvalue”, “apiSecret”:“SomeSecret”, “cert”:“certOrPathToCert” } }, “healthcheck”:{ “url”:“https://mydomain.com/health”, “parms”:“parmlabel=%parmvalue%&parmLabel2=%parmValue2”, “expectStatus”:200, “expectText”:“OK”, “frequency”:10, “retries”:3 }, “connectorConfig”:[ { “key”:“keyValue”, “value”:“value” } ] }

The ingress manager 120 outputs the completed metadata (e.g., in the format of a content object) describing the external content item and stores it in the content store 122, as depicted at 226. The following is an example of the completed metadata that could be output by the ingress manager 120 and stored in the data store 122.

{ “version”:“1.0”, “GCOId”:“1001”, “tenantId”:“d69859d5-00c7-4d9e-b873- d2050ad3436e”, “region”:“1”, “sourceSystemId”:“1234”, “sourceSystemObjectId”:“DOC-1234567”, “sourceSystemIdentityId”:“1002”, “sourceSystemType”:“SharePoint2017”, “externalObjectLinks”:[ { “objectType”:“rawObject”, “locationType”:“url”, “location”:“https://mydomain.com/myfile.doc”, “md5Hash”:“c94b8052489960a182f2440f642ffe42” }], “internalObjectLinks”:[ { “objectType”:“rawObject”, “locationType”:“url”, “location”:“https://s3.amazonaws.com/d69859d5-00c7-4d9e-b873- d2050ad3436e/myfile.doc”, “md5Hash”:“c94b8052489960a182f2440f642ffe42” }, { “objectType”:“extractedText”, “locationType”:“url”, “location”:“https://s3.amazonaws.com/debtest- abcd/Public+Jive+AWS+Security+White+Paper+v2.txt”, “md5Hash”:“c94b8052489960a18adda40f642ffe42” } ], “acl”:[ { “principal”:“1003”, “permissions”:[ “read”, “write” ]}, { “principal”:“1004”, “permissions”:[ “read”, “publish” ] } ], “actions”:[ { “name”:“approve”, “permission”:“approve”, “verb”:“post”, “url”:“approve”, “body”:“{\“id\”:\“%extId%\”,\“action\”:\“APPROVE\”}”, “buttonLabel”:“Approve” }, { “name”:“retrieve”, “permission”:“read”, “verb”:“get”, “parms”:“id=\“%extId%\””, “buttonLabel”:“Retrieve” } ], “sourceMd5Hash”:“someLongHashvalue”, “changeMd5Hash”:“someLongHashvalue”, “relationships”:[ { “type”:“parent”, “sourceRelationId”:“parentDocId” } ] “usage”:[ { “system”:“GCO”, “states”:[ { “state”:“CREATE”, “timestamp”:“2017-02- 14T18:16:10.674+0000” } ] } ], “attributes”:{ “key1”:“value1”, “key2”:“value2”, “key3”:“value3” } }

FIG. 3 is a diagram depicting an example 300 of displaying an external content item and initiating performance of actions using metadata. In the example 300, the internal environment 110 is depicted along with a displayed web page 320. The web page 320 displays a specific external content item, which is a blog post with a title of “My Blog Post” that was written by the user John Doe. Because the external content item itself is not stored within the internal environment 110, the external content item is displayed using information from the metadata, which in this example includes the title and author. The way in which the external content item is displayed (e.g., the formatting and information layout) can be defined by a display instructions (e.g., HTML or another display language) contained within the metadata). The web page 320 is being viewed by a user of the internal environment 110 (e.g., on the user's desktop, laptop, phone, or other computing device in communication with a web server associated with the internal environment 110). For example, the web page 320 can be displayed as a result of the user searching for documents that were written by John Doe or searching for blog posts in general and selecting the specific blog post by John Doe.

The web page 320 also includes a number of actions 322 that are performable for the external content item (the specific blog post in this example). This actions that are performable in this example are a view action, an approve action, and a like action. The specific actions 322 that are displayed for the specific external content item can be selected based on permissions. For example, the specific user that is accessing the external content item can be required to have permissions (e.g., specific user permissions and/or group permissions) to perform the actions, and only the actions that the user has permission to perform (e.g., a subset of the actions that are available for the external content item in the metadata) can be displayed or otherwise made available to the user. In some implementations, a list of entitlements 310 for the current user is used to determine user permissions and which actions the user will have access to. The entitlements can include a list of user identifiers (also called aliases) for the user in the internal environment 110 as well as various external systems (e.g., the specific user can be associated with a number of unique user identifiers, some of which map to user identifiers at external systems). The entitlements can also include a list of group identifiers for groups to which the user belongs, which can also map to external groups. In the specific example list of entitlements 310, the specific user is associated with unique user identifiers of 1005 and 1002 and with unique group identifiers 1003 and 1006. For example, the unique user identifier 1002 could represent the user's account at the internal environment 110 while the unique user identifier 1005 could map to a unique user identifier at a specific external system (e.g., the specific user may have an account with a unique identifier of joe5525 at the external system 150). In this example, the specific user can be determined to have permissions to access the view, approve, and like actions based on the user identifier of 1002 (giving access to the view action via the ACLs of the metadata 330) and the group identifier of 1003 (giving access to the view, approve, and like actions via the ACLs of the metadata 330).

Example metadata 330 for the currently selected external content item is also displayed. The example metadata 330 includes unique identifiers, links, actions, access control lists, display instructions, and other descriptive metadata. The actions include service call information for performing the action (e.g., internal and/or external actions).

In the example 300, the user has selected the view action (e.g., tapped or clicked on a graphical button or icon representing the view action), as depicted at 324. As a result, the internal environment has accessed the metadata 330 and generated a service call for the view action using the service call information in the metadata 330. The service call for the view action in this example is to a service running in the external system 150 (in this example, the /ServiceA service at the www.domain2.org domain, as depicted at 340). The service call can include, for example, a URL, parameters, access credentials, and/or other service call information for carrying out the view action for the external content item. A second action is also included in the metadata 330, which is the approve action. The approve action, if selected, would generate a service call to a different service of the external system, as depicted at 340. A third action is also included in the metadata 330, which is the like action. The like action, if selected, would generate a service call to an internal service (depicted in this example by the interactive services 124) of the internal environment 110. In general, actions for the selected external content item can generate service calls to services running at the same external system, to services running at other external systems, and/or to services running within the internal environment 110.

As a result of selecting the view action, as depicted at 324, the internal environment 110 can send the service call to the external system 150, which can result in the blog post content being displayed to the user in the web browser (e.g., in a web page frame of the currently displayed web page 320 or in a new web page). Other actions can produce a different result. For example, if the user selects the approve action, then the service call can be sent to the external system 150 to perform the action and a result of the action can be returned (e.g., a message displayed to the user in the web browser indicating that the approve action was successfully performed by the external system 150).

The metadata 330 also includes a number of links. The links (which may or may not be present in the metadata for a given external content item) include one or more external content links and/or one or more internal content links. An external content link is a link to the external content item located on the external system. For example, an external content link may be used if the internal environment 110 needs to access the external content item itself (e.g., to retrieve a video file for creating a video clip or thumbnail, or to retrieve an audio file for performing speech recognition). In the example metadata 330, there is one external content link the blog post file located on the external system 150.

An internal content link is a link to internal content derived from the external content item. For example, if the external content item is an audio file then speech recognition can be performed and the resulting text file stored at the internal environment 110 and referenced by an internal content link in the metadata.

Methods for Managing Metadata for External Content Items

In the technologies described herein, methods are provided for managing metadata for external content items. For example, metadata can be received from external systems describing external content items. The metadata can be received and processed by an internal environment and used for interacting with the external content items, without the external content items having to be stored at the internal environment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example method 400 for managing metadata associated with external content items. The example method 400 can be performed, at least in part, by an internal environment (e.g., by internal environment 110). For example, the example method 400 can be performed, at least in part, by one or more connectors (e.g., connector 112, 152, and/or 162) and/or an ingress manager (e.g., ingress manager 120).

At 410, metadata associated with external content items is received by an internal environment from an external system. In some implementations, the external content items themselves are not received (i.e., the internal environment does not receive the external content items, just the metadata describing the external content items). In some implementations, the internal environment receives the external content items themselves in order to extract metadata and/or perform some other processing on the external content items, but then deletes the external content items so that they are not stored at the internal environment (e.g., the external content items are received temporarily and then discarded). In some implementations, metadata is received from the external system for some of the external content items while for other external content items the external content items themselves are temporarily received from which metadata is determined.

At 420, actions that are performable for the external content items are obtained. For example, the actions (e.g., external actions) can be received as part of the metadata from the external system. Actions can also be determined by the internal environment (e.g., internal actions and/or external actions).

At 430, an indication of the actions are added to the metadata. For example, service call information can be determined for the actions and added to the metadata. The service call information can be used when performing the actions. For example, a user of the internal environment can interact with the external content item (e.g., select a representation of the external content item from a message or search result), view available actions for the external content item, and initiate performance of one of the available actions. Initiating performance of the action can access the metadata for the action and generate a service call to perform the action using the service call information.

At 440, the metadata is saved in a data store. The metadata is usable at the internal environment to perform the actions in relation to the external content items.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example method 500 for managing metadata associated with external content items including determining internal and external actions. The example method 500 can be performed, at least in part, by an internal environment (e.g., by internal environment 110). For example, the example method 500 can be performed, at least in part, by one or more connectors (e.g., connector 112, 152, and/or 162) and/or an ingress manager (e.g., ingress manager 120).

At 510, metadata associated with external content items is obtained by an internal environment from an external system. In some implementations, the metadata is received from the external system without receiving the external content items themselves. In some implementations, the internal environment receives the external content items themselves in order to extract metadata and/or perform some other processing on the external content items, but then deletes the external content items so that they are not stored at the internal environment (e.g., the external content items are received temporarily and then discarded). In some implementations, metadata is received from the external system for some of the external content items while for other external content items the external content items themselves are temporarily received from which metadata is determined.

At 520, indications of external actions are received from the external system. The indications of the external actions are received in the metadata from the external system.

At 530, internal actions are determined by the internal environment. For example, the internal environment can determine internal actions that are performable within the internal environment based on the external content items and/or based on other factors. For example, the internal actions can be determined based on the external system, based on the owner or operator of the external system, based on a content type of an external content item, etc.

At 540, the internal and external actions are added to the metadata. For example, adding the actions to the metadata can include generating service call information for the actions and including the service call information in the metadata.

At 550, the metadata is saved in a data store. The metadata is usable at the internal environment to perform the actions in relation to the external content items.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example method 600 for managing metadata associated with external content items including displaying representations of actions. The example method 600 can be performed, at least in part, by an internal environment (e.g., by internal environment 110). For example, the example method 600 can be performed, at least in part, by an ingress manager (e.g., ingress manager 120).

At 610, metadata that describes external content items is stored at an internal environment. At least a portion of the metadata was received by the internal environment from an external system. Metadata can also be generated at the internal environment and stored. The external content items themselves are not stored at the internal environment.

At 620, a request is received from a user of the internal environment to interact with an external content item. For example, the user can select the external content item from within a search or collaboration system (e.g., select a title or name of the external content item displayed in a search results web page).

At 630, actions that are performable for the requested external content item are retrieved from the stored metadata. The actions can include internal actions and/or external actions. The retrieved actions can be all of the available actions for the external content item or the actions can be filtered (e.g., the actions can be limited based on the permissions of the user and/or groups that the user belongs to). For example, the metadata for the external content item can contain a list of ACLs listing the users and/or groups that are allowed to access the actions associated with the external content item.

At 640, representations of the actions are provided for display to the user. For example, the representations can include graphical icons, text, audio, etc. For example, a list of actions (e.g., like, view, comment, etc.) can be displayed in a web page to the user for selection.

Example Computing Devices

The techniques and solutions described herein can be performed by software and/or hardware of a computing environment, such as a computing device. For example, computing devices include server computers, desktop computers, laptop computers, notebook computers, netbooks, tablet devices, mobile devices, and other types of computing devices. The techniques and solutions described herein can be performed in a cloud computing environment (e.g., comprising virtual machines and underlying infrastructure resources).

FIG. 7 illustrates a generalized example of a suitable computing environment 700 in which described embodiments, techniques, and technologies may be implemented. The computing environment 700 is not intended to suggest any limitation as to scope of use or functionality of the technology, as the technology may be implemented in diverse general-purpose or special-purpose computing environments. For example, the disclosed technology may be implemented using a computing device (e.g., a server, desktop, laptop, hand-held device, mobile device, PDA, etc.) comprising a processing unit, memory, and storage storing computer-executable instructions implementing the technologies described herein. The disclosed technology may also be implemented with other computer system configurations, including hand held devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, a collection of client/server systems, and the like. The disclosed technology may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

With reference to FIG. 7, the computing environment 700 includes at least one central processing unit 710 and memory 720. In FIG. 7, this most basic configuration 730 is included within a dashed line. The central processing unit 710 executes computer-executable instructions. In a multi-processing system, multiple processing units execute computer-executable instructions to increase processing power and as such, multiple processors can be running simultaneously. The memory 720 may be volatile memory (e.g., registers, cache, RAM), non-volatile memory (e.g., ROM, EEPROM, flash memory, etc.), or some combination of the two. The memory 720 stores software 780 that can, for example, implement the technologies described herein. A computing environment may have additional features. For example, the computing environment 700 includes storage 740, one or more input devices 750, one or more output devices 760, and one or more communication connections 770. An interconnection mechanism (not shown) such as a bus, a controller, or a network, interconnects the components of the computing environment 700. Typically, operating system software (not shown) provides an operating environment for other software executing in the computing environment 700, and coordinates activities of the components of the computing environment 700.

The tangible storage 740 may be removable or non-removable, and includes magnetic disks, magnetic tapes or cassettes, CD-ROMs, DVDs, or any other medium which can be used to store information and which can be accessed within the computing system 700. The storage 740 stores instructions for the software 780, which can implement technologies described herein.

The input device(s) 750 may be a touch input device, such as a keyboard, keypad, mouse, pen, or trackball, a voice input device, a scanning device, or another device, that provides input to the computing environment 700. For audio, the input device(s) 750 may be a sound card or similar device that accepts audio input in analog or digital form, or a CD-ROM reader that provides audio samples to the computing environment 700. The output device(s) 760 may be a display, printer, speaker, CD-writer, or another device that provides output from the computing environment 700.

The communication connection(s) 770 enable communication over a communication medium (e.g., a connecting network) to another computing entity. The communication medium conveys information such as computer-executable instructions, compressed graphics information, or other data in a modulated data signal.

Alternatives and Variations

Although the operations of some of the disclosed methods are described in a particular, sequential order for convenient presentation, it should be understood that this manner of description encompasses rearrangement, unless a particular ordering is required by specific language set forth below. For example, operations described sequentially may in some cases be rearranged or performed concurrently. Moreover, for the sake of simplicity, the attached figures may not show the various ways in which the disclosed methods can be used in conjunction with other methods.

Any of the disclosed methods can be implemented as computer-executable instructions or a computer program product stored on one or more computer-readable storage media and executed on a computing device (i.e., any available computing device, including smart phones or other mobile devices that include computing hardware). Computer-readable storage media are tangible media that can be accessed within a computing environment (one or more optical media discs such as DVD or CD, volatile memory (such as DRAM or SRAM), or nonvolatile memory (such as flash memory or hard drives)). By way of example and with reference to FIG. 7, computer-readable storage media include memory 720 and/or storage 740. The term computer-readable storage media does not include signals and carrier waves. In addition, the term computer-readable storage media does not include communication connections, such as 770.

Any of the computer-executable instructions for implementing the disclosed techniques as well as any data created and used during implementation of the disclosed embodiments can be stored on one or more computer-readable storage media (e.g., non-transitory computer-readable media). The computer-executable instructions can be part of, for example, a dedicated software application or a software application that is accessed or downloaded via a web browser or other software application (such as a remote computing application). Such software can be executed, for example, on a single local computer (e.g., any suitable commercially available computer) or in a network environment (e.g., via the Internet, a wide-area network, a local-area network, a client-server network (such as a cloud computing network), or other such network) using one or more network computers.

For clarity, only certain selected aspects of the software-based implementations are described. Other details that are well known in the art are omitted. For example, it should be understood that the disclosed technology is not limited to any specific computer language or program. For instance, the disclosed technology can be implemented by software written in C++, Java, Perl, JavaScript, Adobe Flash, or any other suitable programming language. Likewise, the disclosed technology is not limited to any particular computer or type of hardware. Certain details of suitable computers and hardware are well known and need not be set forth in detail in this disclosure.

The disclosed methods, apparatus, and systems should not be construed as limiting in any way. Instead, the present disclosure is directed toward all novel and non-obvious features and aspects of the various disclosed embodiments, alone and in various combinations and sub-combinations with one another. The disclosed methods, devices, and systems are not limited to any specific aspect or feature or combination thereof, nor do the disclosed embodiments require that any one or more specific advantages be present or problems be solved.

The technologies from any example can be combined with the technologies described in any one or more of the other examples. In view of the many possible embodiments to which the principles of the disclosed technology may be applied, it should be recognized that the illustrated embodiments are examples of the disclosed technology and should not be taken as a limitation on the scope of the disclosed technology. Rather, the scope of the disclosed technology includes what is covered by the scope and spirit of the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, implemented by a computing device of an internal environment, for managing metadata associated with external content, the method comprising: receiving, from an external system via a computer network, metadata associated with one or more external content items stored on the external system, wherein the external content items themselves are not received; obtaining actions that are performable for the external content items; adding an indication of the actions that are performable for the external content items to the metadata; and saving the metadata in a data store, wherein the metadata is used, at the internal environment, to perform the actions in relation to the external content items.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the metadata comprises, for each external content item: a unique identifier for the external content item; an indication of one or more actions that are performable for the external content item; and user permissions associated with the external content item.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining actions that are performable for the external content items comprises, for each external content item: determining a content type of the external content item; obtaining one or more actions that are specific to the content type.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining actions that are performable for the external content items comprises, for each external content item: receiving indications of one or more external actions that are performable for the external content item and that are specific to the external system; and determining one or more internal actions that are performable for the external content within the internal environment.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining user permissions for the external content items; and adding the user permissions to the metadata.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, form the external system, one or more access control lists (ACLs) associated with the external content items, wherein the ACLs reflect user permissions for users of the external system in relation to the external content items; mapping the users of the external system to corresponding users of the internal environment; and adding the user permissions to the metadata using the mapped users of the internal environment.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the external system is a remote content management system that is operated by a different organization from the internal environment, and wherein the external content items comprise electronic documents.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a request from a user to interact with an external content item; retrieving, from the stored metadata, the actions that are performable for the requested external content item; and providing for display in a graphical user interface, representations of the actions that are performable for the requested external content item.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: receiving, from the user, a selection of a displayed action; generating a service call for performing the selected action based on service call information obtained from the metadata for the requested external content item; and initiating performance of the action using the generated service call.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein saving the metadata in a data store comprises creating a content object for each external content item, the content object comprising: a unique identifier for the external content item in the internal environment; a unique identifier for the external content item in the external system; indications of the actions that are performable for the external content item; for each of the actions, service call information for performing the action; and one or more access control lists (ACLs).
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the actions comprise: a like action indicating that a user likes the external content item; and a comment action indicating that a user has commented on the external content item.
 12. A computing device operating within an internal environment, the computing device comprising: a processing unit; and memory; the processing unit executing computer instructions performing operations for managing metadata associated with external content, the operations comprising: obtaining, from an external system via a computer network, metadata associated with one or more external content items stored on the external system, without storing the external content items at the internal environment; determining a plurality of actions that are performable for the external content items, comprising: receiving, via the metadata from the external system, indications of one or more external actions that are initiated within the internal environment and performed at the external system; and determining one or more internal actions that are performable within the internal environment; adding the determined plurality of actions to the metadata; and saving the metadata in a data store, wherein the metadata is used, at the internal environment, to perform the actions in relation to the external content items.
 13. The computing device of claim 12, further comprising: receiving, form the external system, one or more access control lists (ACLs) associated with the external content items, wherein the ACLs reflect user permissions for users of the external system in relation to the external content items; mapping the users of the external system to corresponding users of the internal environment; and adding the user permissions to the metadata using the mapped users of the internal environment.
 14. The computing device of claim 12, the operations further comprising: receiving a request from a user to interact with an external content item; retrieving, from the stored metadata, the actions that are performable for the requested externa content item; providing for display in a graphical user interface, representations of the actions that are performable for the requested external content item; receiving, from the user, a selection of a displayed action; generating a service call for performing the selected action based on service call information obtained from the metadata for the requested external content item; and initiating performance of the action using the generated service call.
 15. The computing device of claim 12, wherein one or more of the plurality of actions are performable by an automated system of the internal environment.
 16. The computing device of claim 12, wherein obtaining the metadata associated with the one or more external content items comprises: receiving the one or more external content items; generating the metadata from the received one or more external content items; and deleting the received one or more external content items once the metadata is generated, wherein the one or more external content items are received temporarily but not stored at the internal environment.
 17. The computing device of claim 12, wherein obtaining the metadata associated with the one or more external content items comprises: receiving the metadata from the external system without receiving the one or more external content items.
 18. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions for causing a computing device to perform operations for managing metadata associated with external content, the operations comprising: storing, at an internal environment, metadata describing external content items, wherein the metadata is received, at least in part, from an external system, and wherein the external content items are not stored at the internal environment; receiving a request from a user of the internal environment to interact with an external content item represented in the stored metadata; retrieving, from the stored metadata, actions that are performable for the requested external content item; and providing for display to the user in a graphical user interface, representations of the actions that are performable for the requested external content item, wherein the actions are performable, at least in part, within the internal environment.
 19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, the operations further comprising: receiving, from the user, a selection of a displayed action; generating a service call for performing the selected action based on service call information obtained from the metadata for the requested external content item; and initiating performance of the action using the generated service call.
 20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the selected action is an external action, and wherein initiating performance of the external action comprises: communicating the service call to the external system. 